Where We Came From

So, you might be wondering, where did the idea for Roadhouse 52 come from? Why call it Roadhouse 52? Why do we have scripture on the walls? I will do my best to answer all your questions, and if I miss one, let me know.

The owners of this beautiful hotel are Harv and Lorraine Barkman. On top of the hotel, they also own Mitchell Express Foods, Barkman Auto Sales, and have rental properties with Jormel Enterprise. The hotel is the newest addition to their businesses. So, why start a hotel when you have so many other businesses? Let me turn you over to the lovely Lorraine to answer that.

“People used to ask us what possessed us to build a hotel. My response: that’s a good question. A hotel was not in our plans. We were not looking for another venture; life was already crazy. But we felt God asked us to do this. We did not take this lightly, and it took us 2 years before we got into it. It kept popping up as an idea that Harv and I tried to get rid of, but it kept coming back.”

After 2 years, and a surprise approval at the bank, Harv and Lorraine began construction. Their crew: God and 5 guys. More proof came that God was behind this project as construction took a total of only 10 months. Construction went smoothly and everything seemed to fall into place.

Roadhouse 52 opened up March 4, 2018 and has been a roller coaster of a journey for Harv and Lorraine. Having never owned anything like a hotel before there were a lot of unknowns and surprises. In 2020, as we all know, we were hit with the Covid-19 pandemic. This was yet another bump in the road. Steinbach is not a tourist hot spot, and lots of business came from events like sports tournaments. That got shut down a lot with the pandemic, but through it all, they knew and continue to believe that God is faithful and that God is with them. 

So, why call it Roadhouse 52? Lorraine had this to say:

“The hotel is on the 52 highway and we liked the name Roadhouse, so we combined them, submitted it and it was approved instantly. Often you have to play with the name a few times, but it was approved on the first try and we took that as a final sign that this was something we were supposed to do.” 

As for the scripture on the walls; God was a part of everything, from the idea, to construction, and still now. Those scriptures are there to shift the focus back to God and to bring hope and encouragement to our staff and to our guests. It reminds us that even though everything seems crazy in the world, God is with us. This is who we are and what we believe, and we want our guests to know that and to experience that when they stay here.

It’s been a crazy 4 years now, filled with highs and lows. And we are excited to see what the future has in store for us here at Roadhouse 52 Inn & Suites.